Wee Chong Jin: Difference between revisions

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{{family name hatnote|[[Huang (surname)|Wee]]|lang=Chinese}}

 

 

==Early life==

Wee was born in [[Penang]] to parents Wee Gim Puay and Lim Paik Yew. He received his early education at the [[Penang Free School]], and read law at [[St John's College, Cambridge]]. He was called to Bar at the [[Middle Temple]] in November 1938, and was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of Straits Settlements in 1940 upon returning to Penang.

 

 

Wee practised law in [[Malaysia]] and Singapore from 1940 to 1957, with the firm Wee Swee Teow and Co.

 

Wee became the first Asian lawyer to be appointed to the position of a judge at the Supreme Court of Singapore on 15 August 1957, and subsequently appointed Chief Justice of Singapore on 5 January 1963. His appointment as Chief Justice marked the end of the century-old tradition of appointing British Chief Justices – the last of whom was Sir [[Alan Rose]] – for Singapore.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://app.supremecourt.gov.sg/default.aspx?pgID=39|title=Supreme Court History}}</ref> Wee remained in the position for 27 years, making him the longest-serving chief justice not only in Singapore, but also in the Commonwealth.<ref name="wcj1">{{cite news | url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes20050606.2.10.1 | title=Ex-CJ and 1st Asian judge in S'pore dies | date=6 June 2005 | author=Peh Shing Huei | newspaper=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

 

Wee also served as the first chairman of the [[Presidential Council for Minority Rights]] from 1973 and remained at its helm for 18 years. Wee assumed the post of the acting [[President of Singapore]] for two days when [[Devan Nair]] stepped down as President. Wee Chong Jin had also stepped in when Singapore's heads of state were either away or indisposed. He had stood in for Yusof Ishak when he was Yang di-Pertuan Negara and also for President Benjamin Sheares. He was the first president of the [[Singapore Academy of Law]] in 1988. In August 1991, he was awarded the [[Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang|Distinguished Service Order]].<ref>{{cite web | first1=Marsita | first2=Azizah | last1=Omar | url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1090_2008-10-28.html | title=Wee Chong Jin | date=2016 | access-date=29 April 2017 | last2=Sidek | location=Singapore | website=eresources.nlb.gov.sg}}</ref> In April 1992, Wee was made an Honorary Member and Fellow of the Singapore Academy of Law for life – the highest honour made to a person by the Academy. He served as a legal consultant of the [[Supreme Court of Singapore]] after his retirement on 27 September 1990, and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004.

 

 

Wee was also known for his love for sports, as he was an outstanding cricketer for Cambridge University in 1937 and a keen golfer serving as President of the Singapore Golf Association from 1962 to 2002.

 

 

==Honour==

===Honour of Malaysia===

 

==See also==

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wee, Chong Jin}}

[[Category:Singaporean people of Chinese descent]]

[[Category:Singaporean people of Hokkien descent]]

[[Category:2005 deaths]]

[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]

[[Category:Malaysian emigrants to Singapore]]

[[Category:People who lost Malaysian citizenship]]

[[Category:Singaporean Roman Catholics]]

[[Category:Malaysian people of Hokkien descent]]

[[Category:Naturalised citizens of Singapore]]

[[Category:Members of the Middle Temple]]

[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm]]

[[Category:Malaysian expatriates in the United Kingdom]]